Tag: Process

There exist on the internet a good few resources on how to break into writing comics—many of them linked at The Beat's own resource page—but there is always room for more, especially more by...

I know everyone is sick of The Force Awakens already, but if you have any interest left, the good news is that screenwriter Todd Alcott has returned to his blog to examine the character...

For the past few days there has been a kerfuffle in the extremely high profile, glamourous and profitable world of comics journalism. Rather than comment on this hot mess, I'm going to talk about why it happened. And what we an do to improve things.

Comic-Con is said to be the biggest pop culture event in North America, and if you’re one of the more than 130,000 attendees, you’re likely to purchase and wear some of one-of-a-kind comics, art and action figures from the many vendors at the show. Whether it’s a Optimus Prime collectible or a Boba Fett action figure or even your vintage Star Wars costume, keeping your Comic-Con treasures safe and sound doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. And tese FedEx coupons just for Beat readers will help!

Photo by Abigail Huller, via Oakland Museum of California Q. Do you still work the same way you did 25 years ago, drawing by hand at a table? A. Yes. I was just at an antiquarian book...

[Editor's note: The release this week of March Book Two by Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell has already made headlines with its story of the fight for civil rights in the 60s, and the covers to both volumes have become iconic in their own right. The message of the courage to fight for equality for all in the face of violent opposition is as relevant and needed today as it was 50 years ago. But powerful images to cover powerful times don't always spring up fully formed. Here Powell and Top Shelf designer Chris Ross with an in-depth breakdown of how they created these covers and combined imagery to capture both history and ideals.] NATE: March was originally a single, massive volume, so the initial front and back covers were intended to house the entire narrative: the front introduced the basic visual theme of opposition, with two elements facing off against each other, though a contingent of riot-ready white supremacist police were prominently featured across the bottom. After some discussion with Chris Ross, Andrew Aydin, and Congressman Lewis, we all agreed that we should shift some of that focus to the folks on the front lines, and away from Jim Crow police forces. Around that time, we decided to release the saga as a trilogy, so Chris and I jumped in to further develop the oppositional themes, but playing with different angles and approaches to the cover’s division.

Wow speaking of comics crafts, coloring is definitely one of the key components of today's comics golden age, yet one of the least understood, and Nathan Fairbairn presents a fascinating process post on how...

Eisner-nomintaed As the Crow Flies cartoonist Melanie Gillman has a cute, simple intro to the basics of color theory, which will help you understand why movies are all orange and teal and European-style coloring look way more pleasing than rando pseudo CGI.

At the MGA Con a few weeks ago I was on a panel on breaking into comics, and someone asked about resources for writing comics. I said I would throw up some reference, and...

The nominees for the Inkwell Awards, which recognize the stars of inking, have been announced and they are below. You can find out more about the awards, which will be presented at this year's Heroes Con, at their website. Inking may be one of the more fragile vocations in the comics ecosystem, but these talenetd people deserve all the recognition they can get.

Out this April comes a one-shot from Image Comics by the creative team of Nathan Edmondson, Alison Sampson and Jason Wordie. Called Genesis, this is a story is all about imagination and creation, and...

If you like comics, you've almost certainly seen Matthew Wilson's work. Colourist for many of the most acclaimed comics of the last few years, his work has been seen on Wonder Woman, Young Avengers,...